Finally, a vacation--sort of.

I mentioned in a previous post that we hadn't taken any trips this year. Well, we finally got away for a weekend. We went with some friends to Sunriver, a resort near Bend in sunny Central Oregon. Dale and I used to go there all the time to hike and enjoy the gorgeous weather, but we hadn't been there during the summer in forever. We were reminded of how much we love it there and now know that we'd like to spend more time there. The problem with this weekend was that it was way too short. It's about a 4 hour drive to get there, which the kids didn't really appreciate. Even though they had their movies to watch, they constantly asked if we were any closer. Our answer was always "Yes, we're a few minutes closer than when you asked before, but we still have hours to go." Owen, didn't really like being strapped in his seat, but Hannah is such a wonderful big sister and did her best to keep him entertained and supplied with whatever he wanted. We didn't get there until Friday night and just hung out. It was a bit of a task getting the 6 rambunctious kids who'd been cooped up in a car to settle down and get to bed, but we did it, and then we crashed. Saturday we hung out at one of the resort pools. It had a water slide and a lot of room to lounge all around the pool, although for some reason, Dale and I didn't get much lounging done. Go figure. Hannah and Justin have both come a long way this summer in enjoying the water. Hannah amazes me at how she just is constantly under the water and is starting to swim. Before this summer, she didn't want her face wet. Justin is not quite as confident, but is getting there. Owen loves the water and gets mad when you get him out. Other than the pool, we didn't do much else other than bike around on the trails (everyone except Owen and I) and go to a park. The kids enjoyed attempting to play tennis. We did go to the Village Mall, which is a very fun place to shop, but all we managed was dinner (which was mediocre pizze--we wouldn't reccomend Ponderosa Pizza) and very good ice cream treats at Goody's--although all kids except one opted for ring pops (suckers) instead. On the way out of town, we hit downtown Bend, which is also a very fun place to shop, but we didn't really get to do much of that again either. Can you tell I'm bitter that I didn't get to shop? ;) We walked along the Deschutes River and watched the ducks, geese and one beloved swan and fed them our day old mediocre pizza crust that had been sitting out--hopefully there aren't some sick water fowl in Bend now. We also hit another Goody's ice cream shop before hopping back in the car for the trip back home. It was fun, but we have decided that a week in Sunriver would be ideal. You could get in all the stuff you wanted to and still be able to relax and take it easy.

Here is a pic of 5 of the kids at the park in Bend. Next year Owen will be climbing with them, but this year I got a separate pic of him in Dad's Cougar hat.

I also promised pics of Owen's first birthday and Hannah without her two front teeth, so here they are. Hannah is hanging upside down, but it's what I have for now. I still don't have pics of the new kitchen. It hasn't managed to stay clean long enough for me to take a pic--maybe tomorrow.

Upside-down, toothless Hannah

We just gave Owen a cupcake (well 2) on his actual birthday while Grandma Sharon was still here (she had to leave that night to go back to Indiana).

Owen enjoying his first bites of his first cupcake.

Pretty much done with first cupcake.

Mad because there isn't anymore cupcake. We give him another.

Eats about 3/4 of the 2nd cupcake and is finally happy.